Under the Mask
by MarshieMallow
Summary: Anna Marion is a 23 year old Let's Player. Her life dream is to meet her favorite LPer, Cryaotic. As she grows in popularity, she takes the chance and starts talking to Cry. They grow closer and eventually meet each other in person. Anna soon runs into problems, losing almost everything. Cry offers to take her in until she can regain herself, but things start to get weird.
1. Prologue

I closed my laptop, breathing a sigh of relief. I had just finished recording more of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

I'm a fairly new Let's Player on YouTube. I picked up Let's Playing a week ago after finally getting the software and games I've been need. I've been a big fan of Cryaotic and PewDiePie for a couple years now. I've dreamed of playing with them and eventually meeting them, Cry the most.

I spun around in my black, padded desk chair, sliding off and walking to my dresser. I lived in a small apartment by myself, nothing fancy. I pulled out the furnished, oak wood drawer, retrieving an oversized, gray t-shirt and a pair of blue pajama bottoms. Changing out of my day clothes, I threw them in the white hamper sitting next to my door.

I glanced at the clock resting on top of the nightstand, the bright red numbers casting a glow across the wall. It read 2:45am. I sighed softly to myself as I crawled into my full-sized bed, curling up beneath the silver, leopard print covers. My eyelids closed slowly as the sleep I had been fighting off took over, throwing me into the world of dreams.


	2. Chapter One

_The bright, blue, cloudless sky reflected in the deep blue ocean water. The soft breeze sent occasional ripples through the water, breaking the still image. I stared quietly, thinking about what I was going to record that night._

 _The sounds of laughter rose up in the distance as children ran around on the sandy shore just a couple of feet away from me. I was content with resting against the damp, wooden bridge that combined the beach and the parking lot. People passed by without a word, either leaving or arriving at the beach._

 _The sun was starting to set on the horizon, giving the water a beautiful purple color. I turned to leave, walking to my silver Mazda3. I sat in the driver's seat, watching the sunset while others left for home._

 _I eventually started my car, switching on the headlights as I put the car into reverse. I arrived home in no time, seeing as my house wasn't too far from the beach. When I got inside, I went straight for my laptop, grabbing my headset from my dresser. I plugged in the jack, turning on the laptop and watched it boot up._

 _I clicked the recording software icon, opening up Amnesia with it. I started the recording, continuing the game where I had left off last time. It was about an hour and a half later when I stopped the recording, closing the game and pulling up YouTube. I proceeded to start editing my recording when my Skype notification rang out. I jumped, startled, and looked at my phone._

 _My iPhone screen was glowing brightly, letting me know that I had a notification. I looked at it, seeing that it said I had a friend request on Skype. I opened the app, continuing to edit my recording as I waited for the app to open. When it loaded, I went to my recent conversations, my heart skipping a beat as I saw the name._

 _Cryaotic._


	3. Chapter Two

I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling. My dream slowly came back to me as my brain gradually woke itself up. I sat up, my eyes instantly sweeping to the open laptop on my desk.

I tossed the covers off, swinging my legs over the bed. I reached for my mint green robe, tying it on myself and flipping up the hood, which had two cat ears attached. Trotting over to the wooden desk, I pressed the black ON button on my laptop, powering it up. I left my bedroom, padding into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I pulled out a Monster can and popped it open. I walked back into my bedroom, sitting down in my desk chair.

I opened Chrome, typing the URL for YouTube into the address bar. I tapped enter, waiting for the page to load. I watched a couple of Cry's videos, the memory of the dream still floating in my mind. I decided to send him a message, so I clicked on my inbox, typing his username into the respective box.

My fingers flew fluidly over the keyboard as I typed out my message. My eyes scanned the words as I typed, looking for any missed spelling or grammatical errors. When I was satisfied with the message, I clicked send, standing up from my desk.

I changed out of my robe and pajamas, switching into some sweatpants and a running shirt. It was around 7am, so I hadn't missed my running time quite yet. I pulled a pair of white ankle socks out of my top drawer, walking into the front room.

Slipping on the socks, I grabbed the mp3 and headphones from the table next to my door, sliding on my shoes in the process. I opened the door, stepping out into the barely humid air. I loved the spring, the temperature was just right and the day was always beautiful.

I pressed PLAY on my mp3, sticking the earbuds in and jogging down my pathway, taking a right at the sidewalk. I started out with a light jog, getting myself warmed up. The music drowned out most of the outside sounds and pushed away the thoughts of my dream and the message away.

Halfway through my route, I switched gears, changing my jog to a run. I was back at my house within minutes when my stomach growled. I chuckled to myself, walking in and closing the door behind me. I slipped off my shoes and returned my mp3 to the basket, walking into the kitchen.

I pulled out a small, stainless steel pan, setting it on the front left stovetop. I switched the stove on, setting the heat to medium. While the pan warmed up, I grabbed a few ingredients out of the fridge: butter, milk, cheese, and eggs. I also got out the salt and pepper shakers from my spice cabinet. After putting a small spoonful of butter into the pan, I retrieved a glass bowl from the cabinets. I started cracking eggs and adding the necessary ingredients, mixing them together when I finished. I poured the mixture into the pan, hearing the familiar sizzle of cooking eggs. I grabbed my spatula from the drawer close to my stove, scraping what was cooked from the bottom of the pan.

Soon, I had the cheese melting into the eggs. I let it sit, pulling down a paper plate and grabbing a fork. I scooped the eggs onto my plate, placing the pan and spatula into the sink as I left the kitchen, heading back up to my room.

My clock glowed at me, reading 9:35am. I sat down at my desk, checking my YouTube channel for any subscribers or comments. There was nothing but the occasional compliment on a video of mine. I clicked my inbox tab, my hopes slightly rising as the page loads. My heart fell slightly as I saw my inbox empty. I then realized that it's Saturday, which meant he'll be recording and uploading his live stream video around 6pm - 7pm.

I smiled as I finished the last of my eggs, heading over to my bed to lay down. I grabbed my TV remote from my nightstand, turning on the TV. I flipped through the channels, eventually settling for Bones and closing my eyes. I decided to take a nap so I could stay up all night to watch Cry's live stream.

* * *

 _Hello, Cry._

 _My name's Anna. I've been a fan of yours for a couple years now. It's been my dream to meet you in person, or to even talk to you and play with you. I know you're busy with life and recording for your fans and everything, so you don't really need to respond if you can't. I just wanted to say hi, hopefully have a conversation with you one day._

 _Keep doing what you do, Cry. You make a lot of lives better by just being you._

 _Anna_


	4. Chapter Three

I woke up to the sound of my e-mail notification. I groaned slightly, throwing my arm across my eyes. I reached for my phone, clicking it on and glancing at the screen.

The e-mail was from YouTube, telling me that Cry uploaded a new video. Opening the app on my phone, I glanced over at my clock. 6:30pm. I realized I slept through lunch and dinner, just as my stomach growled. I got up, taking my phone with me. I trotted into the kitchen, clicking Cry's name on my phone.

I grabbed the peanut butter and jelly, setting it on the table as I loaded Cry's live stream announcement video. It started playing just as I sat down with two slices of bread and a knife.

The video mainly told the viewers what games he was playing that night with his friends. Turned out that he was playing Left 4 Dead 2, Attack on Titan, and Dungeons and Dragons.

I started eating the sandwich I put together as I walked to my room. I turned on my laptop, opening Amnesia. I got my headset again, continuing the story. I found out that I was almost done with the main story. I finished my recording, editing it and uploading it to YouTube. I clicked on my inbox, waiting for the page to load.

I finished my sandwich, almost choking as I noticed Cry's name in my inbox. I squealed quietly, opening the message. My eyes scanned over the words on the screen as my smile got bigger.

 _Hi, Anna._

 _Looks like part of your dream came true, didn't it? It's nice to see that there's someone out there who isn't begging me to show my face to them or to reveal who I am. You're one of the few who isn't like that. I suppose you saw the live stream video since you're as big of a fan as you claim to be, huh? Well, I have a preposition for you. You seem like a nice girl, Anna. So how about you join the others and I as a special guest on tonight's live stream? Maybe, if all goes well tonight, this could carry on into the future._

 _Cry_

I squealed in delight as I typed back a quick acceptance message, bouncing softly in my seat as I waited for an answer. I refreshed the page after a few minutes, seeing another message from him. I opened it, then typed back a quick message. I ran to my kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a couple Monster cans and some snacks that would last me until the first break. I jogged back to my room just as my phone screen turned off. I clicked the home button, seeing the Skype notification. I opened the app, waiting. The friend request shone brightly as I clicked 'accept'.

I smiled to myself as I watched TV for the next couple of hours, thinking about how much fun the live stream would be.


	5. Chapter Four

I glanced over at my clock, the time reading 9:15 pm. I realized that I needed to get the games that I'd be playing tonight, as I still haven't gotten them. I hopped off of my bed, skipping over to my laptop and opening it up. The first game I looked up was _Attack on Titan._ I scrolled through the first page of Google, finding the only link to a game being the tribute game. I clicked the link, watching the page unfold on my screen. A box popped up, alerting me that Unity Web Player was needed to play the game. I moved the wolf paw cursor over the box that said OK, downloading the software. It took forever to install, so I walked to the main room, standing in the middle of the beige-colored room.

I heard a scratching coming from my front door. Confused, I trotted over, opening it and peeking my head out. The sky was a midnight blue, the stars barely visible with the streetlights shining so brightly. The moon was close to being full, with the full moon day being a couple days away. I looked around, trying to find the source of the noise, but the town was quiet, except for the occasional train horn.

I shut the door, walking back upstairs. The installation for UWP shined complete. I smiled slightly, closing the window and favouriting the AOT game page. I checked to make sure I was able to play the other two games and then favourited those pages, too. I checked the time, my phone glowing softly in the darkened room. 9:45pm.

I headed down to the kitchen, my stomach rumbling softly. I opened the fridge, pulling out a hamburger patty and some spices from the cabinet. I grabbed a skillet, turning on the stove and setting the steel pan on the heater. I cooked my food, heading back to my room after grabbing some chips and more Monster. It was around 10:30pm by the time I cleaned up the kitchen and grabbed some more snacks to tide me over during the livestream.

As it neared 10:45pm, my Skype notification went off, causing me to jump from my spot on the bed. I reached for my phone, opening the app. A smile spread across my face as I saw it was from Cry. I clicked on his name, my eyes scanning over the black text.

It was time.

* * *

 _Hello, Anna!_

 _Are you ready for the livestream? My friends are ready to meet you. I'll be sending you a Skype call soon._

 _Cry_


End file.
